Mainland stocks edged down on Friday and ended the week lower as a rally in artificial intelligence shares lost momentum and concerns over higher US yields weighed on ⁠global equities.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 437 points, or 1.7 percent, at 25,650 on turnover of HK$276.86 billion.

The tech index rose 101 points or 2.3 percent, to 4,569 while the China Enterprises Index gained 169 points, or two percent, to 8,555.

The Hong Kong gains came after after Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said he is leaning towards keeping interest rates ⁠steady at the US central bank's policy meeting this month if the next batch of inflation data shows price pressures are continuing to moderate.

Tech majors listed in Hong Kong rebounded from a two-month low, up 2.3 percent. Alibaba shares gained 2.4 percent.

Shares of Chinese smartphones-to-electric vehicle maker ⁠Xiaomi climbed 3.6 percent on a deal with German auto dealers.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 11 points, or 0.3 percent, at 3,930, on turnover of 938.25 billion yuan.

The Shenzhen Component Index fell 108 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 13,516 on turnover of nearly 1.1 trillion yuan while the ChiNext Index dropped 26 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 3,286 on turnover of nearly 499.81 billion yuan.

Sentiment towards AI supply chain stocks cooled along with global peers ⁠and investors have shifted into some traditional sectors, according ⁠to market participants.

The tech-focused ⁠Star50 Index fell 2.1 percent and was down 5.1 percent this week. The CSI Artificial Intelligence Index fell ⁠1.6 percent.

Against broad declines, consumer staples shares rose 2.7 percent. Chinese liquor giant Kweichow Moutai shares rose 2.4 percent. The CSI Financial Index rose 0.8 percent.

Onshore A-share sentiment remained soft this week amid higher ⁠US yield concerns and weak domestic macro data, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note. They lowered their China equity index targets to reflect a weaker growth outlook, tighter liquidity, less favourable flow dynamics and rising regulatory uncertainty.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei snapped a four-session slide to end 806 points, or 1.26 percent, higher at 65,020, driven by a 12 percent rally in index heavyweight SoftBank Group and buoyed by Wall Street's strong finish overnight.

However, the 225 benchmark still posted a weekly loss of two percent while the broader Topix recouped early losses to inch up 0.03 percent to 4,103.

In Seoul, the Kospi ended 107 points, or 1.64 percent, at 6,687, marking its biggest daily rise since August 20, but the benchmark still ended the week down 1.5 percent. (Reuters & Xinhua)


Edited by Aaron Tam